Family
Civil Code family law coexisting with customary practice
The Civil Code of 2011 governs marriage, divorce, filiation and succession. Customary marriage under barlake and related traditional practices remains widespread, and the interaction between registered civil marriage and customary union is the central practical question in most family matters.
Key rules
- Jurisdiction — National, through the district courts. Customary dispute resolution operates in parallel at village level.
Governing law
- Civil Code (Law No. 10/2011) — marriage, divorce, parentage and succession
- Law Against Domestic Violence (Law No. 7/2010) — protection orders and criminal liability
In practice
A civil marriage must be registered to produce full legal effects, including in succession. Many unions are contracted customarily and never registered, which creates real difficulty for inheritance and for establishing spousal status. The Civil Code recognises de facto unions in limited respects. Divorce is available by mutual consent or on fault and breakdown grounds. Village-level mediation through the suco councils resolves a large share of family disputes without ever reaching a court, and the formal law does not displace those processes so much as sit above them.